Mitch Evans lined up sixth on the grid after topping qualifying group two but narrowly missed out on the semi-final Duels by 0.006 of a second to Alexander Sims. The Kiwi had a challenging start to the New York City E-Prix, being passed by Jake Dennis in the Avalanche Andretti. Mitch and the team then delivered a solid ATTACK MODE strategy and impressive overtakes to make progress through the field moving him up into fourth position. With 18 minutes remaining Mitch attempted an overtake on Nyck de Vries but hit a pothole on the dirty side of the track and displayed lightening fast reactions to control his Jaguar I-TYPE 5. He fought his way back onto the lead group to take the final podium position, overtaking Sims, with three minutes remaining of the E-Prix.
On the streets of Red Hook, Brooklyn – one of his favourite tracks – Sam Bird delivered his best drive of the season so far. The 35-year-old soared through the pack from sixteenth to fifth. Gaining a phenomenal eleven places, the Briton showed his race pace and a perfect strategy from the team.
Mitch Evans moves up to third in the drivers’ standings sixteen points behind the leader. Team-mate Sam Bird is thirteenth. Jaguar TCS Racing are fourth in the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship teams’ standings.
James Barclay, Jaguar TCS Racing Team Principal: “A fantastic result for the team here in New York. A really strong double-points finish and a great performance from the team and both drivers. Mitch delivered a brilliant drive to make his way through the field into third place but it could have been more if it wasn’t such a challenging race in which to overtake. Sam’ performance in the race was phenomenal. Sixteenth to fifth is an incredible drive in this world-class field and one we know Sam is capable of. Collectively the 25 points have really helped our championship campaign and we’re looking forward to racing on home soil in London to keep up the momentum and fight for more points and podiums.”
Mitch Evans, Jaguar TCS Racing driver #9: “When you’re in the title fight, you have got to get stuck in. I hit the pothole offline and I thought it was all over but I was able to recover from that. In Formula E, it’s all about how you plan your next move and we did that strategically here in New York. We had really strong pace, probably good enough to take the fight to the leaders. I genuinely believe that the win slipped away from us but we’ll come back fighting again in London.”
Sam Bird, Jaguar TCS Racing driver #10: “To come back through the points from sixteenth to fifth is a great achievement. We’ve known all weekend that we have a really fast race car and we were able to showcase that with our race pace and fastest time in Free Practice 3. It’s been a tough season for me but the team have worked so hard and they’ve been incredible. I’m now really looking forward to our home race in London.”
Rounds thirteen and fourteen of the 2022 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship take place on the streets of London, United Kingdom, on 30 and 31 July 2022.
